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→Top division record: 10-5 in July 2009 |
→2009: 10-5 in July 2009. Went 9-6 in September 2004. |
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The January [[2009 in sumo|2009]] ''[[honbasho]]'', Asashōryū's first full tournament since May 2008, was a remarkable success. He won his first fourteen matches, losing only on the last day to Hakuhō. He then won the resulting playoff to earn his 23rd championship and pass [[Takanohana Kōji|Takanohana]] on the all-time list to become the fourth ever wrestler to have won 23 tournaments<ref>{{cite web|author=Buckton, Mark|title=Amazing comeback for Asashoryu at Hatsu basho '09|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ss20090127mb.html|publisher=[[Japan Times]]|date=27 January 2009|accessdate=21 May 2009}}</ref>(the other three being [[Taihō Kōki|Taihō]], [[Kitanoumi Toshimitsu|Kitanoumi]] and [[Chiyonofuji Mitsugu|Chiyonofuji]]). His victory came exactly twenty years after ''yokozuna'' [[Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi|Hokutoumi]] also returned from three tournaments out to win the championship with a 14-1 record. Sumo Association head [[Mienoumi Tsuyoshi|Musashigawa]] described Asashōryū's comeback as "amazing." Ticket sales and television ratings showed a marked increase as his winning run continued.<ref name="dazzling">{{cite web|title=Asashoryu dazzles fans in comeback win|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jAnMnATPUJUXLWmoVf1ROLTybXgw|publisher=[[AFP]]|date=[[2009-01-25]]|accessdate=25 January 2009}}</ref> After his playoff win Asashōryū announced to the crowd, "Everyone, thank you very much. Really. I am back."<ref name="dazzling"/>
In the following tournament in March he went undefeated for the first nine days but then lost to three of the five ''ozeki'' over the next five days, putting him out of contention for the championship. He also lost his final day match to Hakuho to finish
Asashōryū returned to Mongolia after the May tournament to receive treatment for a bruised chest suffered in his defeat to Harumafuji. In June he received the Hero of Labour Award from outgoing [[President of Mongolia|Mongolian President]] [[Nambaryn Enkhbayar]], the highest government award in Mongolia and equivalent to the Japanese [[People's Honour Award]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Asa receives award in Mongolia|publisher=[[Japan Times]]|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ss20090613a1.html|date=13 June 2009|accessdate=26 June 2009}}</ref> He performed poorly in the July tournament with a 10-5 record, his worst finish in nearly five years.
==Suspension==
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